GameCube online functionality

Nintendo never commissioned any servers or internet services to interface with the console, but allowed other publishers to do so and made them responsible for managing the online experiences for their games.

Company leaders including Shigeru Miyamoto and Satoru Iwata based their stance on concerns with maintaining quality control over their games and doubts that players would want to pay subscription fees.

Nintendo published three racing games limited to LAN support: 1080° Avalanche, Kirby Air Ride, and Mario Kart: Double Dash!!.

Hobbyists later developed PC software that can tunnel the GameCube's local network traffic over the internet, as well as private servers to continue hosting Phantasy Star games.

The device acted as a modem and allowed players to view weather forecasts, the stock market, and bet on horse races, among other activities.

Randnet gave players access to message board communities and a web browser for surfing the internet.

On August 28, 1999, Nintendo EAD general manager Shigeru Miyamoto stated that the Dolphin needed some type of network communication because it was becoming an important component of entertainment.

He said that Nintendo would build a network to support a worldwide audience if they could make it profitable, but he expressed doubts that online gaming would be a sustainable business model for the company, citing subscription costs as prohibitive at retaining a steady customer base.

[7][8] On June 8, 2000, Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi said, "We are planning to introduce an internet business next March or April.

[10][11] Months after the system's release, Nintendo stated it was researching online projects internally, but not planning any public demonstrations.

[19][20] To help players communicate in Phantasy Star Online, ASCII Corporation released a stretched out controller with a full keyboard in the middle.

[19][27][28] Nintendo published three racing games with LAN multiplayer modes: 1080° Avalanche, Kirby Air Ride, and Mario Kart: Double Dash!!.

Hironobu Sakaguchi commented in July 2001 that they were planning on taking their Final Fantasy series online and it would need to be on all platforms to be profitable, including the GameCube.

[40] The GameCube version of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow had a planned online mode.